Moving On Up Series

God has a plan for your relationships. In fact, today I want to tell you that things are going to get better! That’s the theme of today’s message. I’m calling this message moving on up!

You remember that show with George & Wheezy? Moving on up? Well wherever you’re at, whatever you’re experiencing, whatever your relationships look like, God wants it to get better. Moving on up. More fulfilling, more rewarding, more exciting, more satisfying. God is pro-healthy relationships.

God came up with the concept of healthy relationships in the first place. It was God who said, Genesis 2:18 NIV: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” How many of you know that’s true? It’s not good for men to be alone, we need you women! We need you. Watch this though, God invented relationships for the fulfillment of man and woman and for His glory so I can say confidently to you, it’s going to get better. Even if it’s great right now, it’s going to get better. And even if things are rough and rocky right now, it’s going to get better. It’s going to get better.

I know something about the love shack. In fact, this is my 16th year of marriage to Tabitha Montgomery Hodges! I know something about what I’m preaching to you about today. So much so that when we got married, our first house looked something like this. It did! It was our own little love shack. We were young and in love and broke and didn’t know any better. Both of us were fulltime students and we lived in a little duplex in Seminary housing. Literally our living room was so small that if I was sitting on the couch, I could answer the front door, get a glass of water from the refrigerator, and change the channel on the TV without a remote control without ever getting up from the comforts of our living room couch! That’s how small our house was. It was so small that if we dropped a tissue, we had wall-to-wall carpeting. That’s small. We put a queen size bed in our bedroom and you literally had to turn sideways to get to the bathroom. It was small. It was so small that our welcome mat just said WELL! That’s small. It was our own little love shack.

So I’m going to teach you what I’ve learned in 16 years of marital bliss, but more than that. I’m going to teach you what I’ve learned in 20 years of ministering to thousands of people, and more importantly than any of that I’m going to teach you what the Bible says, what I’m teaching is on the authority of God’s word, that’s what gives my words power! So you better get ready this is going to be a life-changing series.

How many of you today are married, would you just raise your hand on all of our campuses? Congratulations, it’s going to get better. How about those of you who are in a dating relationship or engaged, where are you? Would you raise your hands? Awww, this is going to be helpful for you. I’m going to help some of you get married and I’m going to help others of you break up! You can thank me later! Where are the single folk? You single people…keep your hands up and look around. All the single ladies! Now keep your hand up if you’re available for lunch! Ok! How about all of those who would say I’m in middle school man, and I’m sitting by my mom and I’m just scared about what you’re going to say to embarrass me in this series. I get that! And I’m going to take it easy…this is going to be a PG series. Don’t worry, but this series is even going to help you. It’s going to be applicable to all of us and I’m believing God to do some amazing things in this series. I’m believing God for some miracles in this series because I can’t think of any topic more relevant, any subject matter more helpful, anything you need right now in your life more than what I’m about to teach you on the topic of romance and relationships, so welcome to the love shack baby, get ready because God is about to speak to you about your relationships!

I don’t know if you can tell it or not, but I’m really burdened over the condition of most marriages and relationships today. I really am. I mean, think about it, this love shack on all of our campuses today, this broken down, beat up, rusty little love shack represents most of our marriages and relationships. Most marriages and relationships are struggling, most are neglected, most are falling apart at the seams and that’s not the way it’s supposed to be! It needs to get better and that’s what this series is really all about. It’s about moving up from the love shack to the love mansion or the love estate or the love castle. We’re moving on up in this series! We’re getting to the place where we’re living out what God wants for us in our relationships.